Does hearing aid benefit increase over time?

In a recent tutorial for the journal, Palmer et al. [J. Acoust. Sec. Am. 10 3, 1705-1721 (1998)] reviewed the literature on the potential for increases in hearing aid benefit over time (acclimatization). Their review might lea ve some readers with the impression that acclimatization has implications f or the fitting and selection of hearing aids today. We (Turner and Bentler) , along with two other researchers in the field (Humes and Cox), conducted a similar review of the literature a-few years earlier [Turner et al., Ear and Hearing 17, 14S-28S (1996)] and found little evidence of a robust effec t. The bulk of the existing evidence, including the most recent studies on this topic, support earlier conclusions, i.e., that there is no evidence fo r the existence of a strong acclimatization effect in current hearing aid u se. (C) 1998 Acoustical Society of America. [S0001-4966(98)01712-3].